2021 Year in Review

YEAR IN REVIEW

2021 CITY HIGHLIGHTS

OUR MISS ION Th e C i t y of N e w B raunfe ls w i l l a dd value to our co m mu ni t y by p lanni ng fo r t h e f ut ure , p rov i d i ng q u a l i t y s e r vi ce s, e ncouragi ng co mmu ni t y i nvolve me nt , and b e i ng re s p onsi ve to t hose we se r ve .

IN T HI S R E VI E W Com m u n icat i o n s & C o mmu n i ty Engagement

4-5

Econ om ic & C o m mu n i ty Deve lopment

6-7

Fina n ce

8-9

Fire D e pa r t m e n t

10-11

Hu m a n Re s o u rce s

12-13

In fo r m at ion Te c h n o l o g y

14-15

Lib ra r y

16-17

Muni c i pa l Co u r t

18-19

Park s & Re c reati o n

20-21

P l a n n i n g & D eve l o p m e n t S e r vi ces

22-23

Po l ice D e pa rtme n t

24-25

P u bl ic W or ks an d Tran s p o r tat i on & Capi tal Improvements

26-27

Rive r Ope rat i o n s

28-29

Cit y S e c reta r y

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COMMUNICATIONS & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Be a valuable resource for all City departments and help each department achieve their goals through communication and engagement. Provide accurate, relevant, and valuable information to all stakeholders and target audiences in a timely manner and through strategic and deliberate methods.

Created a new fire department recruiting strategy including a series of videos, dedicated webpage, and a social media campaign with targeted geographical audiences.

Won an Award of Excellence and an Award of Honor at the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers Award Ceremony.

Both awards were for COVID communications efforts.

Implemented a successful communications plan for the Charter election resulting in all 18 charter amendments passing.

Began the months-long process of redesigning the City’s website and working with a cross-departmental redesign committee for input from across all areas of the organization. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2022.

Coordinated a press conference and associated media inquiries regarding a police traffic stop for a record 81 media inquiries in the month of November 2020. Most importantly, the strategy used resulted in a limited amount of media coverage and the outcome was as positive as we could have hoped for.

Hosted a Social Media Strategy workshop with social media managers from across the City to give them important legal information and education on managing their accounts including administration and how to create engaging posts.

Coordinated a media plan for the 10-year anniversary of the Baby Josh disappearance.

Organized and hosted a Media Day for the start of river season with participation from river operations, the police department, the chamber, and the tourism industry.

Implemented several website improvements including reformatting the homepage navigation structure.

Contributed to the City’s efforts during the February Winter Storm with regular communication to the community resulting in 16 media releases, 16 fulfilled media inquiries, 80 social media posts for more than 1.1 million impressions, nine alerts issued via the website, and 15 PEG channel updates.

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CO M M U N I C ATI ON S & COM M U N I TY EN GAG E ME N T

BY T H E N U MBE RS

Launched the City’s Tiktok account to share short, engaging videos to promote City services, events, programs, and initiatives. In less than five months the account garnered more than 4.6 million views and more than 177,000 engagements.

Successfully promoted the Perk Your Park contest resulting in the City winning the contest and receiving a $90,000 grant for Fischer Park.

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ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT To grow a livable, vibrant and safely built city for everyone.

Establishment of the downtown TIRZ. TIRZ and tax abatement policies adopted.

Mayfair Development Agreement approved.

Developer for downtown NBU site selected and negotiations commenced.

Memorandum of Understanding for acquisition of Union Pacific property finalized.

Resumption of downtown special events.

Airport was reclassified by the FAA from Regional to National.

Approval of renaming airport to New Braunfels National Airport.

Selection of new fuel provider approved.

Phase 1 airport facility electrical upgrades completed.

Renovation of Fuel Farm completed.

Restriping of RY17-35 completed.

Approval for new ATCT Voice Control Communication System.

North Ramp reconstruction project approved .

Realignment of Airport Rd / Entrance Drive completed.

T-Hangar Online Waitlist project completed.

Hosted site pad for the Alamo Area Council of Governments’ regional clean air study .

Fuel sales reached more than 546,000 gallons despite postpandemic economy and the February 2021 winter storm.

Detention pond project approved.

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ECO N O M I C & COMMU N I TY DEVELOPMENT BY THE NUM B E RS

NEW BRAUNFELS NATIONAL AIRPORT

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FINANCE Develop, coordinate and monitor the City’s Operating Budget and Plan of Municipal Services. Serve as the steward of all the City’s financial resources, ensuring that investments, reports, payroll, cash collections and expenditures are completed in accordance with the City Charter, applicable statutes and generally accepted accounting principles. Analyze financial and operational data in an effort to forecast the financial position of the organization, identify potential opportunities/concerns and increase transparency. Serve as a business partner to the City Manager’s Office in developing strategic solutions to financial and operational policy issues.

Mitigating Supply Chain Bottlenecks Sourced and ordered various equipment and vehicles prior the beginning of the fiscal year in an effort to secure current pricing and ensure that the equipment will be delivered prior to the end of FY 2022.

Investing in New Braunfels Approximately $4.7 million in savings was realized through refunding (refinancing) of some of the City’s outstanding obligations.

The annual savings generated from the refunding will go directly to increasing capacity for the 2023 bond program.

Credit Card Convenience Fee In FY 2020, the annual cost of absorbing merchant service fees when customers were utilizing their credit/debit cards had grown to more than $200,000 in the General Fund. A 2.75% fee was implemented for most city services so these costs are no longer a liability to the General Fund to support.

Continued Growth in Purchasing Rebates In FY 2021, rebates were more than $76,500, which represents a 106% growth in comparison to FY 2017.

Purchasing Solicitations The purchasing division supported solicitations that totaled approximately $43.1 million in contract value. On average, each purchasing solicitation requires approximately 185 hours of administrative support.

Reserves Established for two Critical Projects The FY 2022 Adopted Budget includes $1.5 million set aside in the Facilities Maintenance Fund to support future modifications/ enhancements to the FM 306 operations center and $1.25 million set aside to begin the process of replacing the city’s Finance and Human Resource operating system.

Analytics Added to Quarterly Budget Meetings Custom budget dashboards were created to guide quarterly departmental budget meetings. These reports have added value to these discussions as well as serving as a resource for staff to better manage their departmental/divisional budgets.

COVID Funding Administration Finance staff continued the administration and oversight of various COVID related funds.

Hotel Occupancy Taxes The Finance team coordinated the communication of the reinstatement of penalties and the associated enforcement plan to all overnight property owners. The recovery of occupancy tax collections increased significantly with the reinstatement of the fees with FY 2021 collections representing the highest on record.

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Triple Crown Award Winner by GFOA – This was the department’s first time to be recognized with this designation, which is only given to those entities that have received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, the Popular Financial Reporting Award, and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.

F I NAN C E BY THE N U MBE RS

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FIRE DEPARTMENT We will be there for you.

Implementation of new learning management system, records management system, and scheduling management system—Vector Solutions.

Implementation of the fire engineer rotation between the medic unit and the engine to include re-credentialing of paramedic certifications for multiple fire engineers.

Trial and then implementation of the 48/96 work schedule for operations personnel.

Acquisition and implementation of a mental health and wellbeing program in coordination with the NBPD. Increase in department staffing by six personnel for operations.

Approval of and hiring of first full-time fire department mechanic.

Provided staffing for mass COVID testing site in coordination with Comal County Health Department.

Provided staffing for mass COVID vaccination clinics coordinated by New Braunfels Emergency Management Coordinator.

NBFD personnel performed multiple statewide deployments to assist with mobile COVID testing and at-home COVID vaccination clinics for home bound citizens.

Record setting numbers of emergency runs during the February snow event; assisted with distribution of potable water from fire stations.

NBFD personnel made multiple rescues during high water event on October 14.

NBFD hosted three community engagement events: movie night at Station 4, open house at Station 1, and a push in ceremony for Truck 7 at Station 6.

Took delivery of new fire engine (Engine 2) and a new medic unit (Medic 1).

Held four public input meetings to allow stakeholder input into NBFD strategic plan.

Six New Braunfels Fire Department firefighters attended paramedic school.

New self-contained breathing apparatus bottle compressor and fill station in-service at Station 1.

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FI R E D E PARTMEN T BY THE NUMB ERS

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HUMAN RESOURCES The Human Resources & Risk Management department provides support and guidance to all employees in all areas of the employment life cycle, including: attraction and recruitment, benefits administration, compensation and total rewards, training and organizational development, employee relations, and civil service administration. We are dedicated to serving our employees, our most valuable asset. We serve as a business partner to City leadership in developing strategic solutions in talent management, and safety and risk management. We focus on serving and delivering quality customer service in all areas of HR & Risk Management operations with integrity, responsiveness and sensitivity to all employees, citizens and visitors. We are curious and embrace change and the opportunity it brings. We accomplish this through being collaborative, courageous, modeling leadership consistent with the City’s core values, maintaining ethical behavior, and constantly pursuing excellence.

Held first Fire Department promotional testing Assessment Centers for Lieutenant, Captain, and Battalion Chief.

Hiring of a HR and Risk Management Coordinator to continue to develop a robust safety and risk program.

Conducted inaugural Employee Engagement Survey partnering with the Impact Committee.

Implemented the 2019 Market Study/Cost of Living Adjustments.

Implemented stratifications to positions in Solid Waste and Streets and Drainage to provide clear career paths.

Rolled out electronic pay stubs on Employee Online.

Began 3rd New Braunfels Leadership Academy (NBLA) class.

Restarted City University with creation of the City U Project Team.

Restarted a revamped New Hire Orientation program.

Completed annual Open Enrollment through electronic enrollments.

Restarted a revamped HR Traveling Help desk program.

Launched an electronic evaluation system, enhanced NB VOICE tool.

Creation of HR Form Library.

Created recruiting plans for all new funded FTEs. Completed first department-specific risk data presentations.

12

Held first full-time position specific hiring event for the Solid Waste & Recycling Division HUM AN RESOURCE S

BY THE NUM B E RS

13

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Provide technology leadership and expertise by designing, deploying and maintaining modern technology solutions that facilitate and enhance the City’s effectiveness in serving the citizens of New Braunfels.

Reimaged all Windows 7 machines to Windows 10.

Implemented the use of captions for City Council meeting broadcast.

Implemented, with River Activities Department, a web-based solution for River reporting, wristband management, etc.

Major overhaul of GIS system, including virtualization of servers, migration to ArcGIS Pro software, easier remote access, etc.

Integrated playground inspections into Cartegraph.

Rolled out Geovalidation (new maps) in Spillman for Fire, Dispatch, and Police Beat Test groups (full implementation is pending).

Assisted HR and Finance in roll-out of Employee Online.

Virtualized all Phone Systems servers and upgrade of Cisco Call Manager.

Upgraded GolfNow software.

Managed the construction of 20+ miles of fiber for new buildings. Project was 70% complete at the end of FY21.

Revamped hardware imaging process resulting in much improved turn-around times for replacement and or repair of end-user computers.

Deployed new Mobile Device Management software making it easier to deploy, manage and secure the more than 600 mobile devices across the City.

Deployed e-fax capabilities as part of Printer refresh project.

Developed a Census Data Demographic Viewer and dashboard to provide current amd historic data to the public.

Replaced 95% of existing Network infrastructure resulting in up to date equipment and faster network speeds between City owned buildings 14

I NFO RM AT I ON TECH N O LOGY BY THE NUMB ERS

2020 CENSUS DATA DEMOGRAPHIC VIEWER

15

LIBRARY The mission of the New Braunfels Public Library is to provide the community with equal access to physical and virtual environments that support and encourage lifelong learning and enrichment.

Became designated as a Family Place Library.

Implemented a home delivery program to bring library materials to homebound residents.

Initiated the first-ever Community Read.

Received a Hotspot & Chromebook Grant.

Continued Crisis Food Distribution program.

Hosted Diez y Seis event at the Sophienburg.

Installed a StoryWalk at Morningside Park.

500 Books for Babies kits distributed through WIC. Expanded loan periods.

Hosted GED classes in Spanish.

Continued staffing the COVID Hotline for the City.

Received Mental Health Signs and Signals Certification through MHDD.

Westside Community Center partnered with staff at the Sophienburg Museum & Archives to celebrate Diez y Seis on September 26, 2021 with food, Baile folklórico, crafts, and a local history exhibit featuring Diez y Seis queens, parades, and celebrations in New Braunfels from the 1900s to the 1970s.

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LIBRA RY BY THE N U MBE RS

17

MUNICIPAL COURT To provide courteous and professional service and facilitate efficient procedural justice.

The court staff, Judge, and Prosecutor hosted more than 4,200 virtual hearings where the defendant could choose to utilize court resources to attend in person or virtually.

The court added a Court Operations Supervisor to focus on developing efficiencies in court processes, the collection and analysis of data, and to provide supervision and back-up for court clerks.

In a continuation to dedication to their profession, clerks attended virtual trainings to maintain their required court clerk certifications from TCCA. The court is proud to boast, that among the members who have clerk status, four of those clerks are certified as Level 2 clerks, two have their Level 1 certification and our newest clerk is ready to test for her Level 1. The knowledge required of a Court Clerk is equivalent to that performed by a Paralegal. The court benefits from dedication of its clerks to continue their professional growth.

Presiding Judge Zamora, Associate Judges, Bailiff/Warrant Officer and Juvenile Case Manager also pursued online trainings to maintain their certifications and requirements during a year that was faced with educational training challenges.

Judge Zamora is a faculty member for University of Nevada’s National Judicial College in 2021 and has taught different courses to date to a national audience.

18

MUN I C I PAL CO U RT BY TH E NUM B ERS

After what began as a slow start to the year, Municipal Court filed 11,338 cases in FY 21 which were initiated by electronic and handwritten citations.

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PARKS & RECREATION We will create innovative and inclusive opportunities that promote health, conservation, play and community growth.

The Parks & Recreation Department was named a National Gold Medal Finalist for second year in a row.

Brody Dillard, Golf Course Superintendent, named South Texas Golf Course Superintendent’s Association Superintendent of the Year.

All ability playground equipment installed in Landa Park (musical trail), Morningside Park (playground and trail activities), and Fischer Park (swings).

Landa Park Golf Course set an all-time record for revenue earned and number of rounds played (51,360 rounds) In Fall of 2020, The Fischer Park Monarch Waystation Butterfly Garden became a Certified Wildlife Habitat from the National Wildlife Federation.

Das Rec memberships returned to near pre-pandemic levels and Kinder Care and other services re-opened to normal operations.

Das Rec held the first maintenance week to include refinishing the gym and group exercise floors, painting a mural in Kinder Care and the facility was cleaned from top to bottom, to include high dusting, power washing the pool deck, front and back patios, and deep cleaning of all floors and carpeted areas.

The City of New Braunfels partnered with Comal County to host 27 Mass Vaccination Clinics between January and May. More than 36,000 residents were inoculated at the Civic/Convention Center which represents more than half of the vaccinated county residents.

The effort was supported by Alamo College, C.E.R.T., volunteer residents, and employees across the City.

“Recipes for the Soul” cookbook was published by the Cemetery Committee with proceeds supporting cemetery preservation. To date, more than 500 cookbooks have been sold.

The book earned an Arts and Heritage Award from the Texas Recreation and Parks Society in March 2021.

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River City Athletics (RCA) took over management of the Landa Park Dolphins Swim Team. RCA also manages the Surge Swim Team at Das Rec. The Dolphins program was back in full swing after sitting out the summer of 2020. More than 230 swimmers took part in the summer league and 740 swimmers advanced to the State Swim Meet in College Station.

Fischer Park Nature Camps and Preschool Discovery Programs both hit record enrollments in 2021 with more than 600 students engaging in outdoor learning.

CAMP

MINNEHAHA

Camp Minnehaha operated at full capacity this summer with 1,442 campers participating. This was up 674 campers in 2020 and up 41 campers in 2019.

PARKS & RECREAT I O N

BY THE NUM B ERS

The Parks & Recreation Department had 17,000 Tube Chute admissions this year.

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PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES Promote a safe and sustainable community and built environment in accordance with our comprehensive plan.

Increased communication with development community with a newsletter to our customers and quarterly meetings with homebuilders.

Renamed the Animal Control Division to Animal Welfare & Rescue.

Implemented online pet registrations with an immediate increase in registrations.

Adopted a revised contract with the Humane Society to include more consistent methodology for Shelter payments.

Commenced the unified development code project: New Braunfels Land Development Ordinance.

Set new records twice for the number of residential new build permits approved in a month first in March with 220 and then in July with 250.

Hired an Assistant Director creating capacity at the department oversight and leadership level.

Held a Historic Preservation training for staff and interested Historic Landmark Commissioners.

Initiated process for the City’s first ever Neighborhood Plan.

Implemented a Department Operating and Efficiency Committee to examine processes for streamlining opportunities.

PLA NN I N G & DEV E LOP MENT SERVICES BY THE NUM B ERS

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Several improvements were made in Code Compliance, including: • • • •

Fully staffed with new Sr. Officer for consistent organizational hierarchy and enhanced efforts on high profile cases.

Trained on the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) to address a new and growing area of compliance issues.

Went live with CityWorks.

Created a Code Compliance guide for the public and new officers.

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POLICE DEPARTMENT To provide the citizens of New Braunfels with responsive, courteous and professional law enforcement services.

New Street Crimes Unit After ending the local joint metro task force, we took the task force members (five officers and one supervisor) and created the Street Crimes Unit. The unit has already been effective in addressing local crime, narcotic, and wanted persons issues.

Guardian Tracking Software Implemented an electronic platform for documenting and tracking employee performance. Includes documenting accomplishments and successes, discipline, after-actions of critical incidents, uses of force, an early warning system for use of force incidents, etc.

Support Program Established a peer-to-peer support program comprised of sworn and civilian personnel along with our chaplains. Program supervisors have begun establishing program policies and members have begun attending trainings to enhance knowledge base.

Taser Upgrade Purchased all the necessary equipment to transition to the latest Taser platform. We have certified the Taser instructors on the new platform and have prepared to transition the entire department to the new Tasers.

River Operations Modified river deployment strategies to minimize the number of officers required to staff river operations. The strategies proved effective during the river season.

NEW POSITIONS ADDED: Crime Analyst Emergency Dispatch 24

9 Patrol Officers Lead Records Position

POL I C E D E PARTME N T BY THE NUMB ERS

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PUBLIC WORKS To serve the community and make New Braunfels great by being responsive and providing extraordinary engineering, field maintenance and waste collection services while respecting the unique heritage of the City and balancing the challenges of an aging infrastructure and continued population growth.

Funding awarded from the AAMPO for the Barbarosa/Saur improvements from FM 1101 to Saengerhalle, Common Street sidewalks, and the Dry Comal Creek Trail.

Progress on the implementation of Cartegraph.

Reorganization of the facilities staffing structure.

Installation of new Solid Waste/Fleet modular building and demolition of dilapidated office structure in fleet shop.

Provided continuous support thought out the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring supplies were available to all departments and stricter cleaning protocols were continued.

Successfully transitioned from contract custodial services to in house services to provide a higher level of service.

Construction commenced on Fire Station 2, Fire Station 3, Police Department, and the WSCC Library in addition to the Lamar Area streets, Union Ave, Comal Ave and Lakeview Ave. Construction work was completed on Alves Lane, Live Oak/Katy Ave, Kerlick Lane, Oak Run sidewalks, California Blvd, and the Cemetery Wall Stabilization Projects.

Continued implementation of the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River Watershed Protection Plan to reduce bacteria loading to these waterbodies. Secured an additional $826,000 in grant funding through the TCEQ/EPA to continue WPP implementation measures.

Continued participation in the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP). Secured $545,000 through the EAHCP program in CY2021 to implement EAHCP restoration, habitat improvement projects and stormwater treatment projects.

Specific work includes: • Performed riparian restoration along 800 linear feet of bank along Landa Lake which included removal of approx. 275 nonnative trees and planting of approx. 500 native plants.

• Planted approx. 6,000 native aquatic plants in the Comal River system.

• Removed approx. 800 non-native fish from the Comal River system.

• Coordinated the funding, design and construction of two stormwater treatment facilities, one at the Headwaters at the Comal and one at Elizabeth Ave/Landa Park Dr. Worked towards achieving compliance with the TCEQ Dam Safety Program which included development of O&M plans and Emergency Action Plans for four City-owned dams.

Fielded and investigated more than 50 drainage complaints from residents.

Added two new pick-up routes, one to residential trash and one to recycling, getting the City closer to the number of routes needed to keep up with the growth.

Secured a new woodchipper utilizing grant funding from TCEQ through the AACOG. The equipment will be used to assist other City Departments and for operations when the new single stream drop-off facility is built.

Purchased and installed the first ever locker/break room for the Solid Waste/Fleet Maintenance Division.

Texas Water Development Board Flood Infrastructure Fund grant awarded in the amount of the lesser of $777,143 or 75% of the total cost for the Drainage Area Master Plan, with a total project cost of $1,106,781.

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PUB LI C WOR KS BY THE N UM B ERS

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RIVER OPERATIONS To ensure the long term protection and sustainability of the Comal and Guadalupe rivers in New Braunfels by upholding strong partnerships with regional river stakeholders, dedicated to providing a positive river recreation experience for both citizens and visitors.

There was no General Fund transfer to the River Fund this year. The River Fund has a balance of $157,092 going into next season, which is the largest balance the River Fund has carried to date.

Implementation of the Tube Chute By-Pass wristband was successful and has given users an easier option to skip the Tube Chute.

River Management Fee reporting was moved online for River Outfitters.

The 5th Annual Dos Rios SAT Watershed Clean-Up

Your help is needed to help collect litter from our parks, along our rivers and contributing watershed areas.

OCT. 2 a success, with 173 was 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

AT THE HEADWATERS AT THE COMAL 333 E KLINGEMANN ST.

participants and 1,180 pounds of trash recorded.

CLEAN UP SUPPLIES • CHICK-FIL-A BREAKFAST • T-SHIRTS

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R I VE R OP ERATI ON S

BY T H E N U MBE RS

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CITY SECRETARY

The City Secretary’s Office is dedicated to delivering exceptional services and communication to the community and visitors, along with providing staff support to the Mayor and City Council.

CITY SECR E TA RY

BY THE NU MB E RS Implementation of the City’s first board and commission software platform.

Alignment of board and commission terms.

Collaboration with the Communications and IT departments to revamp the City’s election webpages.

Updated webpages, including parking by permit, alcohol permits, and river shuttle permits, to make more information available to the public and outline processes.

CSO phone tree implementation.

Overhaul of the Arts and Heritage Grants program and implementation of grant guide.

Recorded the highest amount of open records requests in City history at 1,047 processes in one fiscal year.

Better utilization of Legistar including implementation of board and commissions postings through the system, use of the minutes module during council meetings, and other functions.

Implementation and development of department standard operating procedures.

Implementation of the City’s first open records request software platform.

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